Kings And Queens
by xJordanKayX
Summary: The Falice scenes we deserved in the Finale. I don't want to give the story away, so if you are interested in a Falice-Fix-It for episode 22, check it out! TAKES PLACE IN 2x22!


Title is borrowed from a song by the talented Mina Tobias. I have been wanting to do something with this for a long time and finally I have found the perfect story for it :)

Enjoy and please let me know what you think!

love,

J

* * *

 **Kings And Queens**

He's been wanting to check on her ever since the moment he'd found out what had. He can't imagine what she must be feeling, losing a husband like that. Knowing that you've spent the last 25 years married to a psychopath and a serial killer. FP's sure _he_ would never want to find out how that feels, and he would give the world to change the past and make her not have to go through this.

And then the whole situation with Jughead happened, and he had to be there for his son. Alice had her daughter to take care of her, but the boy had only him in regards to family here. And his son is the only one _he_ has as well. So he needed to make sure the boy was alright first, before worrying about anything else.

Now, with Jughead out off the hospital, he still hasn't seen her though. This time simply because he is scared shitless. The last time they had talked, she'd confessed to having given birth to his son and then believing to be responsible for said son's death. The time before that, she had practically out herself out there and he had reacted badly and had pushed her away. He really has no idea if she even wants to see him at all and how she'll react when he just shows up at her doorstep.

So he makes his way over to their local Southside hangout, to check on his fellow Serpent's that are still in town, but the Whyte Wyrm is completely devoid of any of his friends when he arrives. Instead, he finds an assortment of cars outside he can't place, at least one of them looking expensive enough to not be supposed to be on this side of town. When he moves closer and spots Hiram Lodge stalking around the place, he turns on his heels and tries to get the hell out off there before he's spotted. He has no idea what's going on, but he's really not in the mood to fight the man right this moment.

Starting his bike back up, he drives back to the trailer in search of his son. He might only have told Jughead part of what actually had happened and of what is still going on, but he has no doubt, that the boy had come across more information and that he is either behind the empty Wyrm or he at least knows something about it. But Jughead is not home, and seriously, FP shouldn't even be surprised by that. The boy has just recently been released from the hospital and he's already thinking about helping anyone instead of looking after himself first. A quick call places him at Archie Andrews' and with a heavy sigh, FP gets back on his bike once more and drives over to the Northside and the neighborhood he's been avoiding for the last three days.

What he sees, when he comes to a stop in front of the Andrews' house is, however completely not what he had been expecting. There had definitively been some noise in the background to their phone conversation, yes, but FP'd never thought to find the whole of his remaining Serpents moving carefree in and out off the front and the back door of the house. Some of them carrying plates with what looks like breakfast, others simply enjoying the morning without being afraid of losing even the last place they have to sleep.

He enters the house through the open kitchen door, making his way through a bunch of his biker family, and walks right into another scene he's never expected to see. Fred Andrews making breakfast for a group of Southside Serpents, looking for all in the world like he's supposed to be doing nothing else. He exchanges a few words with his son, makes sure the boy knows how proud he is of him for organizing all this, but still expresses how important it is, that Jughead takes times for himself and let his injuries and body heal properly. He owes this to his family and to Betty.

Fred passes him a plate of scrambled eggs, exactly how he's used to order them at Pop's when they were teenagers and FP leans against the counter next to the man to eat. They engage in some small talk, mainly to fill the silence otherwise spreading between them. They haven't been on really good terms ever since FP had been arrested, and he's not sure they had even shared a single word since then. And then suddenly it isn't awkward anymore, and they share a few laughs and stories about being younger.

"Have you talked to her yet?" It seems like there's a lot of things that he's not expecting today, because his former best friend asking him bluntly about his former girlfriend makes that list, too. And there's no question who _her_ is.

"No" FP answers around a bite a toast, keeping his eyes on his plate. Maybe he can avoid the conversation like that. When he doesn't hear Fred say anything in return for a moment, he risks lifting his head and is met with a stern glare. He lets out a breath and admits "I'm not sure she wants to see me" He doesn't elaborate on the scene at Pop's a few weeks back.

"She's right next door, FP" Fred hands over another plate of food to someone FP doesn't care to identify right now. Then he looks back at the other man. "Why don't you just go and see?" Another hungry serpent shows up and Fred is busy for a few more moments.

FP takes this time to finish his own eggs and after draining his glass of water, he starts speaking again. "But..."

"GO!" Fred cuts him off, and there's really nothing for him to say, and so he does.

It's Betty who opens the door and he braces himself for questions about Jughead and his health and thinks about ways to best make her understand that the boy is perfectly fine, but somehow the teenager knows exactly what he's here for. He hasn't had any conversation with his son about Alice and their past ever since he'd held her hand in front of the kids at Pop's and somehow he doubts Alice had mentioned anything about that to Betty either. He's expected this to be a whole lot more awkward and strange and _hard_ but it seems like the girl doesn't have the slightest qualms about her boyfriend's father coming to comfort her mother.

There's no denying that, if Alice even wants to see him, they would inevitably reconcile their former relationship, but Betty seems to be okay with this, too, as she only directs him to the living room and leaves the house to join the party next door. If you'd just found out your father is a serial killer, he thinks, _everything_ is better. He still hopes that that isn't the only reason she'd accept a relationship between him and her mother.

He stops in the front hall for a moment, even after the door has closed behind the teenage girl and he only makes his way into the house when he hears her voice drift to him from the living room. She's calling for her daughter, surely she must have heard the front door, and Betty hadn't told her who's there yet. For the briefest of seconds, he thinks about turning around and leaving again. She'll never have to know he was here, but then he chastises himself. They are not children anymore. He will not be sneaking out off her house in hopes she hasn't seen him and pretend this never happened, just to spare himself the embarrassment should she not want to see him. If that'll be the case, he leaves her alone, won't bother her again, but there's nothing that says they can't talk about this first.

He enters the living room the same moment she gets up from the couch. She's been calling her daughter for the third time now and, having received no answer, she'd decided to check what's going on for herself. She stops in her tracks when she sees him, pulling the robe more firmly across her body, mainly to occupy her hands with something, though. She hasn't expected to see him today – or maybe ever again, she's not sure. And she wouldn't have blamed him either, after all, she'd lied to him for decades and had killed the son he'd never been aware of.

This is not to say, that she hasn't been hoping to see him, that she hasn't been hoping for him to come check on her when he hears about Hal and what had happened. She's heard about Jughead, too, of course, and if she hadn't been too afraid of leaving her house and facing the real world and their neighbors, she would have gone to see him as soon as she's heard. But she can't do that yet, needs to be cocooned in her own little world for a little while longer, staying away from the judging stares of the people she's been living among the last 25 years.

She's glad he's here now, and even though there is a lot to talk about between them – and she promises herself they will get to at least part of it today, since he's here -, the first thing she does is walk over to him and envelop him in a tight hug. She clings to him tight, just like he does to her and they take comfort in each other for a long moment. Then she slips out off his embrace and, taking his hand, pulls him over to the couch. She sits down next to him, close enough for comfort but still far enough apart. He's still holding her hand, and she doesn't mind, so she doesn't pull it back.

"I'm sorry about Jughead" She says into the silence of the room. He turns his head, looks at her intently for a moment.

"You're sorry?" He shakes his head just a little. This is so like her, pushing her problems deep down. "My son's a tough boy; stupid at times I admit, but tough. He's gonna be fine." He pauses for a second, takes a deep breath. " _You_ just found out your husband is the Black Hood"

He's not looking at her anymore. This is just too intense. But she takes his face in her hands and turns his gaze back onto her. "You never wanted me to marry Hal in the first place" A careless shrug of her shoulders. She's in no way as over the situation as the just tries to pretend to be. Hell, before he'd come in, she'd still been crying about how miserable her life had turned out, but he made everything just that little bit better by being here and she cannot talk about what happened while fearing tears will spill down her cheeks any moment.

"Not because I thought him to be a psychotic serial killer" He regrets it just after saying it when he feels her tense again. "I'm sorry"

"No, it's okay. It's not like it isn't the truth" She moves closer to him, squeezing their joined hands, hard, and wipes a stray tear from her face. "I just haven't been brave enough to say it out loud yet"

"Tell me what happened?" He hasn't heard much from anyone. Jughead had not been present and after, he'd been in the hospital so Betty hadn't told him as much as she might have otherwise. All he _does_ know is that former Sheriff Keller had arrested Hal in this very house, with Alice and Betty both present. He has no idea how he's been caught or what, if anything, had happened here. FP puts and arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his side and she nods against his shoulder.

Then she starts to talk, tells him everything from that night. "And I didn't suspect a freaking thing!" She's worked herself up into a fit by now, angry at herself for failing. It takes everything he has to calm her down, to get a word in between, and when nothing else works to shut her up, he kisses her. She kisses him back immediately, her angry tears reaching his lips now, too. It's messy and surely not as romantic as he'd imagined their first real kiss in a long while to be, but it shuts her up and, more importantly, she doesn't push him away.

"None of this is your fault" When she tries to argue, she kisses her again, briefly this time, but she gets the point. "You could not have seen this coming" And somehow, when he says it she believes it.

"Then stop blaming yourself for what happened to Jughead" It's essentially the same request, and she knows he hasn't seen it like that yet. But if _she's_ not at fault for bringing a serial killer (back) into her daughters' lives, then _he's_ not at fault for his son's stupid actions either.

"But I should have – _could have -_ prevented this" He's talking about his son, but somewhere in there she can't help but read a second meaning, too. If he had fought harder for her back when they were in High School, maybe Hal Cooper would never stayed in Riverdale and he would definitively not have broken her heart so completely. And, she has to reluctantly admit, that she hasn't been in love with him for a while, but his actions have hurt just as much as if he'd left her while she'd still had feelings for him.

"Yea, just like _I_ could have prevented _this_ " She moves her hand in a wide gesture over the living room, then she leans over and initiates a slow kiss. "It's over. What's done is done" she says when she pulls back, smiling for the first time in the last three days. "All we can do is move forward now" And he has no doubt that she means _we_ as in _them – him and her and Betty and Jughead together –_ and he has absolutely no objections over that.

The Serpents are not done, it's the first time in the last five days, that FP Jones really believes that. His son is fighting with everything he has to keep them together and, maybe a lot surprising, Veronica Lodge came to his personal rescue in offering the job at a Pop's she's recently bought of off her father. This means he's still able to provide for his son, to be there for Alice and Betty, too and they will stay in Riverdale.

He's discarded the idea of moving to Toledo as soon as he and Alice had come to the unmistakable understanding, that they will give this new found relationship a try. But he's still been determined to leave town, find somewhere else, where he can get a job and no one would know she's the ex-wife of a murderer and they can move on with their lives for good. They had talked for hours that day he had finally found the courage to go see her, had cleared up a lot of stuff standing in between them, and in the end he and his son had stayed with the two Cooper women for the last two days.

Alice had wanted nothing more than to get out off the house, but his trailer wasn't the best place to live right now either, and so they had shared Polly's old bed, because she couldn't bear sleeping in the bed she used to share with her husband. They had told the children about this development that same night, when they had come in from milkshakes with Archie and Veronica and found them in the kitchen preparing dinner. And Betty, who hasn't seen her mother really smile ever since Chic turned out to be an imposter, had wrapped her mother in a hug, asked a few awkward questions and then had helped with dinner preparations. Jughead had taken a little longer to warm up to the fact, that his father is in love with the mother of the girl he loves himself, but in the end, he, too couldn't find any real reason why this shouldn't work. And if both his father and her mother were happy, who are him and Betty to try to ruin this for them.

They had talked about their future, thoroughly and painfully long and often, and it's something they have never done before, but that is exactly what made this conversation so important. If they want to make this work the second time around, they will have to start to work on their differences and talk about where they are headed – or where they want to be headed. It's pretty clear, pretty soon, that they are both in this for the long haul. Neither of them may be divorced yet, but it's only a matter of time now, before both of them will make it official.

Betty doesn't blame her mother for divorcing her father. After everything he's done, the girl hates him herself and she wants nothing to do with him anymore. And surprisingly Jughead doesn't throw a fit about his father's divorce either. Yes, he'd love to have his family back together, but he's seen this coming for a long while (the divorce anyway, not the part where he's getting back together with his High School girlfriend) and when it makes his father happy, then so be it.

They have also talked about the Serpents and his involvement with them. She might have come around to not hating the Southside anymore, but he's still sure she is not a big fan of the biker gang. She never wanted her daughter to be involved in them, too, tried to keep Betty far away from all things Serpents, so he's a little hesitant in saying what has been on his mind. When he finally come out with his plan to retire and make Jughead their new leader, she knows immediately, that this'll make her daughter the new Queen of the Serpents. And she tells him no, tells him that she won't have it. But not in the way he's come to expect.

She doesn't want him to retire, because the Serpents are his and he belongs to them and he's good there and he's not finished with them yet. She is not technically against her daughter stepping up on a stage to accept a leather jacket and the title of Queen anymore, but it's not their time yet. Both the children are still in High School, and as incredibly Jughead handled the last few days, they are nowhere near ready to lead a biker gang. And the Serpents are a part of her past, too, and if being with him again puts them into her present and future, too, then this is what it is. He tells her he'll think about it, doesn't make any promises in either direction, just tells her he loves her and revels in the fact that she says it back.

Standing by the river, surrounded by all his fellow Serpents, the love of his life in his arms, he takes a look around. Betty and Jughead are cuddled up together against his bike, his arms around her to shelter her from the not quite warm weather. Fangs and Sweet Pea are engaged in some conversation he can't hear, but they seem happy and carefree. Toni and Cheryl are stealing kisses every few seconds, not caring that they are surrounded by other people. The rest of them looks happy to just be here, as well. He smiles against the top of Alice's head, where his cheek is resting.

"What are you smiling about?" She asks, head turned just enough to place a soft kiss against his throat.

"Nothing, baby" She knows, though. She can see it, too. This is their family and it is perfect. Then he kissed the top of her head, extricates himself from her arms and looks at her. "There's something I have to do" A kiss to her lips and then he leaves her standing, leaning against his truck, looking after him.

He walks towards a makeshift stage they have put up near the water, stops just for a moment to retrieve two bags that have been stored just out off sight, and then he steps up and gathers the attention of his Serpents in a matter of seconds. She's smiling proudly, seeing him up on that stage. She has no idea why she ever let that go.

He's giving a short but powerful speech about the Serpents and how they will not die out or be chased from their home. Then he reaches for one of the bags and pulls out a pink Serpent jacket. Alice sees Toni kiss her girlfriend from the corner of her eye, before the girl pushes the redhead towards the stage, a proud smile on her face. Cheryl accepts the jacket with a smile and all the grace she is known for, and the girl is just as proud of joining the biker gang as Toni seems to be for having her here.

When Jughead joins his father on stage after Cheryl is back with Toni, Alice holds her breath. So it seems like he'd decided. She won't hate him for it, or hold it against him every chance she gets, but she's hoped he would give the boy and her daughter a few more years to grow up. The second bag contains the black Serpent jacket she had known was in there as soon as Jughead stepped onto the stage. FP searches her eyes, locks them into an intense staring contest with his, making sure this is still alright with her, and when she nods, he hands the jacket over to his son and calls her daughter forward. The blonde doesn't seem surprised and for a second she debates if she should be pissed at the fact that he seems to have talked to them about it already, whereas he's completely neglected to tell her he's made a decision.

Betty slides into her own jacket to clapping and shouts, just like Cheryl had been welcomed before her and she kisses her boyfriend deeply for finally doing this. Then the girl takes her place next to Jughead, hands intertwined, to FP's right, while the man takes a step forward to make his last announcement for the day.

"I have taken quite a lot of time to think about this and, seeing you all here today, I have finally come to a decision" He starts, and the crowd around her becomes dead silent. "Three days ago I have played with the thought of retiring from the Serpents, to give the reign over to my very capable son and his girlfriend." A few gasps move through the crowd. "But someone very smart had told me back then already, that I belong here, that you are my family." He shares a small smile with Alice. "And being here today, _seeing_ you all here today, made me realize, that she is right. You are my family and I will be here for as long as you'll have me!"

There is a general gasp of relief at those words, and Alice can't help the smile creeping onto her lips. She should have never doubted him, she realizes. She expects him to come back down to her now that he's given his speech, but it seems like he's not finished yet. Betty takes the discarded bag from the floor at his feet and holds it out to Jughead expactantly.

"As you have already noticed, there is one more new person here. Some of you still know her from when we were younger, some of you have no idea who she is. All of you are probably wondering what she's doing here, though" It's meant as a joke, and that's exactly how it is received. He let's out a small sigh, because he's been afraid that some of the older members will not take her coming back to readily. Then his gaze moves to Alice, body almost tense; he has no idea if she even wants to come back. But she's smiling at him, too, and he takes that as a good sign. "You also know, that I have been running this show alone ever since I became your Serpent King" Gladys never wanted to have any part in the gang. "And I think it's time for that to change"

She doesn't really hear anything anymore after that. There are shouts of encouragement and claps, but she drowns all that out. The only thing she consciously registers is Betty opening the bag and Jughead pulling out another leather jacket (her very own from 25 years ago) and hands it over to FP.

"So, what do you say baby, you wanna be my Queen?"

She moves through the crowd and up onto the stage without really seeing anything. She loves him and she wants to be with and she has not even thought about joining the Serpents herself, but yes, she really, really wants to. It's what she had been dreaming about when she had been sixteen, before she had wanted nothing more than to get out off the Southside – being the Queen to his King and ruling the Southside and the Serpents together and forever.

She slides into her own jacket without hesitation, before kissing him to the sound of the ongoing party around them.

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I have left Polly out off this story completely on purpose, because I just don't like her and don't care for her. She is not necessary for this story at all and I hope you all understand and don't hate me for it :)


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